Jim Berry05.29.08
During a social event at this year's 35th Annual International Waterborne, High-Solids and Powder Coatings Symposium held in New Orleans at the end of January, a small group of people with several decades of experience within the broader coatings industry discussed common interests. In response to the inquiry, "What is ASTM?" one respondent-a former president of FSCT-thought ASTM was part of the U.S. Commerce Department. Another individual-the manager of a pigments and additives supplier-thought ASTM was part of the Bureau of Standards.
The two responses confirmed conclusions from similar conversations over the past several years. Clearly, many within the paint and coatings industry use ASTM standards in a multitude of ways including purchasing, manufacturing and marketing with no understanding of their origin. Others believe ASTM standards to have been developed by a benevolent but unknown third party. This is far from reality; each industry is responsible for developing its own ASTM test methods.
The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM), formed over a century ago, is a non-profit, consensus organization whose test methods hav
The two responses confirmed conclusions from similar conversations over the past several years. Clearly, many within the paint and coatings industry use ASTM standards in a multitude of ways including purchasing, manufacturing and marketing with no understanding of their origin. Others believe ASTM standards to have been developed by a benevolent but unknown third party. This is far from reality; each industry is responsible for developing its own ASTM test methods.
The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM), formed over a century ago, is a non-profit, consensus organization whose test methods hav
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